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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. key — the most important part
  7. court — of law
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. perch — the fish
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. court — for sport
  13. court — of a king
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. bark — to shout
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. key — in music
  18. press — newspapers
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. mine — for digging
  21. press — to push
  22. press — a publisher
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. perch — for a bird

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com